My utmost for the highest
by Team-megan
Summary: Weeks after the events of Sozin's Comet, Katara is captured. When the rest of the Gaang sets out to find her, Aang faces the beginnings of a rebellion his successor will again deal with decades from now. Friendships will be strengthened, relationships tes


My utmost for the highest.

**Weeks after the events of Sozin's Comet, Katara is captured. When the rest of the Gaang sets out to find her, Aang faces the beginnings of a rebellion his successor will again deal with decades from now. Friendships will be strengthened, relationships tested, and events set in motion that will decide the fate of our young heroes as they journey on a road that might just break them. Will the Gaang find the missing Waterbender in time, or will the rebels overcome our heroes? Be prepared for action, drama, romance, and another thrilling adventure with our favorite characters as young Avatar Aang struggles to keep the balance he and his friends fought so hard for.**

_Water. Earth. Fire. Air._

_The four elements- four nations separated by borders, culture, and a century –long war. Avatar Aang, the air nomad teenager, has defeated the infamous Fire Lord and reunited what's left of the world. It's been only six weeks since the epic battle between the young airbender and the Phoenix King. Zuko has already been crowned the new Fire Lord, and with the help of Aang and his friends, has restored a relative peace to their world. Since their last meeting with General Iroh in Ba Sing Se, the benders and warriors have moved to the royal beach house on Ember Island, where they have taken a small vacation from their duties, safe from the dull monotony and heated arguments of the peace talks. With Azula and the ex-Fire Lord in prison, their bending forever revoked, our heroes believe they are finally safe and free to kick back and enjoy the peace they helped create. But there's dissension in the world, and they still have one more test to face…_

"BEACH PAARRTYYY!"

The triumphant yell reverberated throughout the newly inhabited and refurnished beach house, the sound echoing off the wooden walls and floors. It was met with answering groans and a "Sokka…" or two. The 16-year-old water tribe warrior ignored the protests of those around him and stripped down to his underwear, kicking off his blue pants as well as he could while running in the white sand. His comical dance, accompanied by a yelp of 'Hot!Hot!Hot!Hot!', led to his part in tripping on his own feet and falling into the scorching grains.

"Watch it! I just got your leg healed up!" his sister scolded, as she walked arm in arm with the young Avatar, who snickered quietly at the scene. Sokka ignored the warning.

The six other teens of his group stared at him in disbelief and exasperation. The others' reaction to his antics didn't stop the warrior from rising and dusting himself off, then continuing his amusing charge to the tropical water.

The seven teens had agreed to a day at the beach, but not as enthusiastically as Sokka had. The jetlag of the journey and their exhaustion from the tedious work of politics weighed on their movements.

The new Fire Lord and his girlfriend set up a crimson umbrella and blanket and decided to stay in the shade, unlike the rest of the group. Toph laid in the warmer sand and practiced her sandbending, creating sculptures of various places and things. Suki followed her boyfriend's lead and dashed into the water, splashing him with a laugh. Katara and Aang followed her, and helped to tease the poor water tribe boy, who sputtered and protested, his voice cracking, "No fair! No bending!"

Their screams and laughter died down throughout the day, as the fall sun started to set. The seasons in the Fire Nation were warmer than anywhere else, so it allowed the group to essentially stay out all day without any need for more clothes.

When they'd eaten supper and Zuko had talked with the guards who'd accompanied them, the gang headed to their beds.

A quiet knock sounded on the 15-year-old waterbender's door, which was followed by a certain 13- year-old airbender's head, which peeked around inside as he opened it, grinning boyishly as his girlfriend. Katara stood with one hip cocked to the side, her hand resting on her waist as she regarded him with an eyebrow raised in question.

"Good night, Katara."

"Good night," came the door squeaked as Aang turned to leave, but he was interrupted by a "What, no kiss?"

The Avatar blushed furiously and stepped back into the room, looking everywhere but at Katara, who smiled warmly and walked up to him. She raised her arms and encircled the boy's waist, pulling him closer. Lately, Aang had been shy about showing affection towards his girlfriend- Sokka's 'lecture' still fresh in his mind.

_If I ever find out you two were doing more than I approve of, I'll personally make sure you're the last airbender._

Katara reached up and stroked her hand along Aang's jaw until it came to rest under is chin, gently coaxing his gaze towards her. She was met with soft grey eyes and a slight, dreamy smile. The airbender's arms came to rest around her lower back, the blush on his face intensifying. Katara leaned in, moving to close the gap between their lips, her eyes closing. The Avatar followed suit, leaning towards her.

The moment was ruined by a "Keep it down in there!", which caused the two benders to crash into each other, their noses meeting in an unpleasant way. A certain young Earthbender strode into the doorway and pointed in what she assumed was the couple's direction, which was slightly to the left of where they actually stood, her 'sight' off in the mainly wooden house. The blind girl hissed, "I can feel your vibrations from down the hall, either hurry up and kiss or go to bed." With that, she stalked back to her room, her door slamming in the wake.

"How rude…" Katara sniffed, rubbing her nose in pain and sniffing to alleviate the metallic smell and stinging burn from the unfortunate impact. Aang did the same, still looking at the door, where seconds ago, the cause of his pain had been standing.

The Waterbender turned back towards Aang, who leaned up and kissed her lips softly, murmuring a whispered "night", before he turned to leave. Katara caught his shoulder with one hand and turned him back to face her. Before he could react, she pulled him closer, settling her head into the crook of his neck, her breath fanning out over his shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered, her heart pounding in her ears. She felt the boy in her arm's chest rumble as he replied, "'Love you too."

Katara had religiously told Aang she loved him every day since their reunion hours after the final battles.

_The sound of the airship's engines waned as it landed in front of the royal palace during the early hours of the morning before the sun rose. A streak of blue ran past Zuko, who was talking to the Fire Sages. With a hiss, the door to the dirigible's cockpit opened, creating a ramp, which Sokka stumbled down, leaning heavily on Suki. Toph followed, the ex-Phoenix King in tow, his torso caged in a metal version of a straightjacket. The former tyrant's head hung in shame at being lead out in such a demeaning manner. Katara met her brother and friends halfway, Zuko taking more time to reach them behind her. The girl threw her arms around her brother and his girlfriend, asking them about the outcome of the battle._

"_Where are the rest of the fleet? Did you guys-"_

_Her voice caught in her throat as her best friend stepped out onto the ramp, leaning on a makeshift staff made out of metal, provided by Toph. His body was exhausted from the final battle, his legs and arms visibly quivering. He was covered in bruises and marks from the fight, and when his eyes met Katara's her chest tightened up as tears came to both of their eyes._

_She ran towards him and caught him in a hug. As Katara sobbed into his naked shoulder, he dropped the staff he'd used for support and leaned instead against her, his arms shaking from the strain of gripping her as close as possible. _

_Their friends smiled and watched the tearful reunion, the young couple's sobs the only noise in the early morning air._

_Katara choked out apology after apology, not caring who heard her declaration of love and relieved praise for the young man in her arms, who stood captivated by what she was telling him. Aang sobbed in relief with he, confessing his love and joy._

_Without any further words, the Waterbender took his face in her hands and sealed her mouth to his, showing him with her lips, what she felt in her heart. Letting him know she was no longer confused. _

Standing in the dark of her room, enveloped in Aang's arms again, she smiled into his shoulder at the memory. He squeezed her one last time before letting go and receiving a kiss on the cheek.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

The morning brought the news that the Fire Lord and his girlfriend were wanted back in the capitol, while the other five had been called to stifle a rebellion in the Earth Kingdom.

The ship that brought them to the Island bore the monarch back to his throne, while the other teens took the faster method of transportation on Appa. The friends laughed and told stories while they rode thousands of feet up in the air on the giant bison. Aang reclined on Appa's head, his hands behind his head, his eyes on the clouds around them. He was wearing a new outfit, courtesy of Zuko's own royal tailors. It was a simple gold sleeveless tunic with a collar much like the one on his formal robes, except the neckline came down and across his chest to his left arm. His wooden necklace hung from around his neck and he wore his favorite pair of pants from the Fire Nation school. A maroon sash was tied around his waist and dark brown boots covered his lower legs. Katara leaned over the edge of Appa's saddle and looked down at her boyfriend, who stared up and grinned, moving over and patting the spot beside him. The girl joined him and settled into the crook of his arm as he laid it over her shoulders, his head resting on hers. She also wore a new set of clothes, again courtesy of the Fire Lord's faithful servants. It was similar to her battle clothes from the Invasion, but sleeveless like Aang's new shirt and more decorated, white stylized waves crested over the front under the darker blue collar. Her mother's necklace still lay around her neck, in its rightful place. Her pants were a thinner material of a darker blue, and were tucked into new leather boots. Her hair was in a loose braid, the end laying over her shoulder as she snuggled against the airbender.

The couple lay in each other's arms, enjoying the solitude and tuning out the laughter and noise in the saddle above them. They'd missed alone time recently, the meetings pulling them in opposite directions and causing a lot of friction. It had only been six weeks, for goodness' sake, weren't they supposed to get a break? They _did_ just save the world…

Aang turned his head to place a soft kiss on the top of Katara's head. He inhaled, breathing in the scent of her hair and eliciting a soft chuckle from the object of his affection.

He poked her in the ribs with the arm dangling over her, which gained him a teasing jab to the stomach. He pretended to be hurt about it, which only got him a swift kiss and a slightly apologetic smile. He loved spending time like this with Katara. She _was_ his best friend anyway, which made their relationship that much more stronger. Their deep knowledge of each others feelings and behavior helped them to grow even closer after their kiss in Ba Sing Se.

Times like these were uninhibited, unrestrained by time limits, and untainted by the confusion and heartache of the war. The 13-year-old tugged his waterbending teacher closer, smiling at her contented sigh. Her arm draped over his lap to bring their hands together.

"Aang?" It the first word that had been said between them since they'd left Ember Island. He hmm-ed in reply.

"What was it like being the only kid your age with tattoos? You already told me your friends grew apart because you were the Avatar… but you never said how they reacted after you got your arrows."

The question surprised the young air nomad. He'd never thought about it. His friends had just stopped interacting with him on the day he was told of his destiny. He'd had the marks of his mastery before then.

"I-I guess it was ok… I mean, I was the youngest airbender to ever earn my arrows by mastering the element, but it didn't really affect my friends as much as the news of me being the Avatar did. There were some jealous, older boys who hazed me, but mostly everyone treated me the same."

Katara sighed and snuggled back into the crook of his arm, "That's good then."

Aang smiled, "Why did you ask anyways?"

The Waterbender shrugged, "Just curious. I mean, you had to hide your tattoos from the kids at that school, I just wondered what it would've been like back when you really were with kids your age…"

Aang chuckled, "Oh, is that all?"

Katara smirked, "That and I was thinking how your arrows are pretty sexy…"

Aang's face heated up, which earned him a teasing laugh from the girl in his arms.

"N-n-not funny," he sputtered, "no more teasing."

She poked him in the ribs again and shook her head, "All right, ok. No more. Big baby."

The airbender sighed in exasperation. This was the Katara he'd never seen before, the flirty, affectionate lovesick girl who stopped at nothing to get a laugh and a blush from him.

He loved every minute of it.

Meanwhile, the three other members of their group sat listening to the conversation. The silence was broken by Sokka imitating Katara in a horribly fake girlish voice, "Oh Aang, your tattoos are sooo sexy, you're _so_ bad." The reference to the awful play from Ember Island brought laughs as well as two death glares from the teens seated on appa's head, their head poked over the side of the saddle as they delivered the scornful looks.

The five ended up laughing instead, the serious moment too hard to keep up with the snickers coming from Toph and Suki.

The teens figured their journey wouldn't be as boring as they had originally thought.

CHAPTER 2 to come….

So, how do you like it so far? My first real attempt at a long story. well, not too long. There will definitely be lots more to come.

Oh, and see that button down there? REVIEW please and thank you. let me know how I'm doing- it's like those signs with 1-800 numbers on the back of semi-trucks. XD


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